|
|
528 Chama, N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87108 http://www.cbass.com |
|
|
PIONEER STRENGTH COACH CLYDE EMRICH PASSES at 90 I first saw Clyde Emrich at a National Olympic Lifting championship when I was a teenager. What I remember is that he was doing a C&J with 400 when I was struggling with 300. I could not have dreamed that I would see him next in 2006 at the 20th Reunion of The Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen (AOBS). I was one of two honored guests. The other was Clyde Emrich. In a banquet hall packed with more than 300 Iron Game notables and enthusiasts, AOBS President Artie Drechsler presented both Clyde and I with The Vic Boff Award. We smiled at each other and shook hands, but that was about it. I learned a great deal more after his passing late last year. Guess I was in shock when he was introduced at the AOBS Reunion. His lifting prowess was only the beginning. We both started lifting on our own at 15, which made us stronger and allowed us to excel at high school sports. We both shined in wrestling and track and field, him in the traditional fashion and me in the Pentathlon. That was the beginning for both of us, but he was far more in the spotlight. I, of course, knew that he was an Olympic lifting great—becoming an Olympian in 1952, winning two medals at World Championships, a Pan American Games gold medal and four national championships. In making his first world record, he became the first man under 200 pounds to clean and jerk 400 pounds. His second world record of 409 was so outstanding that it remained the American record for more than a decade. What I didn’t know was his ground-breaking role as a strength coach. Known as “The Legend,” he became the NFL’s first strength and conditioning coach in 1971, and spent the rest of his life working for the Chicago Bears. He served as their strength coach for 20 years before moving into team administration. He was the Bears’ longest-tenured employee, at 50 years. Bears vice president Brian McCaskey told the Chicago Sun Times: “He was a wonderful mentor to me and many others and was well-respected by everyone in the Bears family as well as around the league,” McCaskey, who worked for him for almost 40 years, said in a statement. “Clyde revolutionized the way teams trained for an NFL season. He shared his knowledge and expertise with athletes from all walks of life and at all levels. Clyde would always say, Give me an athlete, and I’ll make them an even better athlete by making them stronger.” The Bears built and named their training center after Clyde in 2008.
You’ll find a wonderful photo and more
about Clyde in a piece by Patrick Finley in the Sun Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2021/11/10/22775494/bears-clyde-emrich-dies-90-strength-conditioning-weight-lift-brian-mccaskey-halas-hall-room-legend
April 1, 2022 Comment on this article: FEEDBACK Ripped Enterprises, P.O. Box 51236, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-1236 Home | Products Index | Ripped Bks | Lean Adv. Bks | Lean For Life | Recommended Bks | |Consultations | Posing Suits | Tapes | To Order | Feedback] Copyright © 2022 Clarence and Carol Bass. All rights reserved. |
